Two Potential Striker Options Dismissed by Aston Villa Owner.

Not World Class

When you claim to be signing a ‘world class’ number nine, you better be delivering on the promise within a couple of days (i.e. already have sorted the deal out) or you’ll be potentially walking into a sh** storm, if nothing materalises.

It would seem that Abel Hernandez was indeed ‘Mr World Class’, judging by the fact Villa owner Tony Xia has admitted to chasing him all summer (see below tweet).

There’s not many truly world class strikers in the world, the count starts to slow down once you get into double figures and most football supporters wouldn’t class Christian Benteke as world class and he’s better than Hernandez.

Come on, Hull City would have been really lucky to have had a world class striker for two years now.

Hernandez isn’t world class. Never mind not even being a regular in the Uruguayan national team in recent seasons, the Championship is certainly not the domain of a world class striker.

Tony Xia’s definition of ‘world class’ seems to be attributed to any player that plays at international level, judging by his initial interest in West Ham’s Enner Valencia; whom he changed his mind on after watching him (see below tweet).

There’s a massive difference between international and world class, which I don’t think I even have to explain here…unless you think John Fashanu is world class because he got a couple of England caps? Then I might have to do some explaining!

Villa will not sign a world class striker in his prime this transfer window, what is more likely is the club overpaying for a forward that isn’t quite the marquee signing. It could potentially be a cross between a gamble and a panic buy, but hopefully whoever it is, will bag 20-plus goals, because that’s the only striker we need. It doesn’t matter what you call him if he does that.

Some reports have suggested that Hull City made a £14 million bid for Bristol City striker Jonathon Kodjia and that will allow Hernandez to go to Villa. So, Hull with a wafer thin squad will be resting their Premier League survival hopes on a Championship striker? Unlikely. He is more likely to be an addition to the squad and not a replacement for Hernandez.

Other Option

The identity of who Xia’s ‘other option’ seems likely to be announced within the next 24 hours, so we won’t have to wait long to know the club’s backup plan in the striker department.

Whoever it is, Villa are lucky to have the benefit of an international break to give any new acquisitions time to train and bed in with the squad. While the poor start to the season shouldn’t be a cause for panic, when the Nottingham Forest game comes around, Villa strikers – both new and old – will need to start firing.

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My Old Man Said (MOMS) is an award-winning football blog & podcast. MOMS is also on the National Council of the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and has been to Parliament, the Premier League offices and beyond in addressing supporter issues. UTV

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